Monday, July 29, 2013

WOO HOO!!! 5 MONTHS OUT!!! This week was awesome! We found 2 new investigators this week!!! One in Hood River Oregon and another in White Salmon Washington!

Well for p-day last week we got to watch The Other Side of Heaven and made cookies, loved it :)

Wednesday we taught a neighbor of a member. Her name is M, she is very Catholic so it was hard to teach her a lesson about The Restoration of the gospel. But the spirit calmed her and we were able to teach a powerful lesson and give her a Book of Mormon!! I have felt the gift of tongues so strong recently, with listening and speaking in spanish!

Future Missionaries :)

We also had a miracle, i went on splits with a young woman from our ward and we went tracting, her and I. We ended up talking and teaching a man on the street about the church! It was in english, but the man was a bit not very nice. But the spirit testified so strong and allowed a powerful testimony and lesson to be taught to this man. The young woman that was with me became excited and nervous to eventually want serve a mission :)

Thursday we found a new investigator after tracting forever!!!!! L let us in right away and we began teaching her. She is very interested and she is interested in learning more :)

Friday we got out of the car to begin tracting, and the first person we meet is the brother of a member from our church. It was so funny how Heavenly Father had placed him exactly in our path! we talked to him for a little bit but he had to go, but he was excited to see us and asked where we have been and why we havent come over to teach him?! Well a few second later another person walks out of the house, U, a man we found a couple weeks ago!! he was excited to see us too and he also asked why we havent come over to teach him! AHHH well we obviously realized we need to get over their to teach them ASAP!!

Gorgeous view of Washington and Oregon. We serve on both sides of this huge river! (all those little dots in the water are people wind surfing and kite boarding!!!!

So lets say we have found and felt MANY people that we need to visit this week!!! YAY for more work and people to teach!!

At church yesterday I learned so much! I came to realize that we are not perfect, no one is perfect... Heavenly Father is very patient because all he has to work with are imperfect people! WE are ALL he has to work with, so don't give up! keep learning and keep working the best you can :)

Deer every where we tract!

Awkward moments this week: I locked the keys in the car...... poor Elder Soper had to drive all the way from Vancouver to come unlock our car! THANK YOU!!!

We went to go contact a referral we received... well it led us to a members home.. nope, J doesnt live their.. so we decided to try the neighbors. We are about to knock on the door but we see 2 men sitting outside talking, so we deiced to go and ask them. well awkward, around the corner a couple feet a way was a group of people quietly sitting in a circle... we dont know what the heck was going on, all we saw was a table with a cross on it.. OOPS! we awkwardly asked "ustedes sabe un mujera J?" haha well they said no, and then we quickly left!

sorry for my jumbled email!! We are going to go play volleyball now for p-day! LOVE EVERYONE!!!!!! BYE :) -Hermana Kelsey Jaeger

Monday, July 22, 2013

"You don't get in the way. You create the way!" I said this to someone who was having a rough time :) As missionaries we learn so much, we never stop learning.. because we are never perfect. Trials and difficulties are a part of life. It gives us the understanding of the need to rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Facing trails is not easy... but in the end and along the way trials build faith and confidence. A mission is like the water rapids... RIDE THEM, HANG ON, and ENJOY THEM! Make it to the end and accomplish it, don't quit or watch from the side. GO and DO. Life is 10% what happens and 90% how we react.

Me & Hermana S

We did alot of service this week and my eyes have opened up... We helped with a funeral and a wedding... WOW!! seeing where life starts and ends... serving a mission is just a little time out of our life to prepare for the bigger things ahead of us. We also had interviews with the Mission President and his wife. They are amazing people!!!!They receive revelation and they have the spirit so strong to help guide and teach us missionaries... I love it :) I received a strong confirmation that I NEED to be the example, I NEED to be self motivated, I NEED to push myself and others!

H J reception

Saturday we helped at the wedding for H and D J.. It was amazing :) it makes me excited and looking forward to the day i get married! This weekend i hit my 5 month mark.. WHAT!!! crazy! I need to get into gear! studying and working HARD!

Sunday 4 of us missionaries in the ward spoke, it was awesome!!! we had a HUGE emphasis on member missionary work. ALL wards around the world need to work. The job of the missionaries is to TEACH the gospel. THAT is what they are called to do during their 18 months/2 years... the members need to find and support the missionaries. Everyone needs to do their callings. Sunday gospel principles class was my favorite, "faith without works is dead!" in simple words, faith is an action! We need hope... If we want a "gift" from heavenly father then we have to put in our faith and effort. we HAVE to have the desire!

As for teaching/finding people... we are teaching a girl V whos mom is a less active member. they are a sweet family :) we invited her to baptism and she is thinking about it, we really are trying our best to get people to church! We feel promtped from the Spirit to keep trying with her.. We are also teaching a very nice spanish lady named Y in washington, she knows this gospel is true and it makes sense... she loved The Plan of Salvation lesson because she really wants to be in the Celestial kingdom!! We invited her to baptism as well and she is nervous but said she will pray about it...

I love love love reading The Book of Mormon, it is amazing how much knowledge i have gained and how much my testimony has grown! I love this gospel!!!

Monday, July 15, 2013

HOLA!!! well Monday night Hermana V and I felt we needed to have REAL prayer..... we ended up praying for an hour straight about each individual investigator... it was such a spiritual moment that i cant explain it all through an email. Heavenly Father was trying his best to give us answers but Satan was doing his best to confuse us... we cried the whole time and we felt our room was filled with many people.... from the other side... we couldn't tell if they were the families from the people we are teaching, or if they are people waiting for their work to be done.... either way, THERE IS SOOOO MUCH WORK TO BE DONE!!!!!!!!! well funny thing, after we were done praying and received answers of who to keep and who to drop.. we went over to our white board and erased names... we looked and felt so silly.. we FINALLY had a real prayer and received answers, and we came to realize that the people heavenly father told us to drop where the people we were trying to work with, and the people he told us to keep where the people we haven't been trying with... it was the total opposite of what WE have been doing. I gained a strong witness and testimony that our will is totally different than His will. We need to go to Him for EVERYTHING, we need to receive answers from him and be very very VERY specific with our prayers.

Windy & beautiful in Hood River, Oregon

There is a lot weighing on the shoulders of a trainer... the trainer is literally expected to do everything. its tough because that is now how a companionship works... now being in a companion ship of 3 (which i love) we all have to work equally together, the trainer just teaches and guides. and of course i don't have much experience as a missionary just yet, so therefore i don't know everything.. I'm not a perfect teacher, I'm not fluent in Spanish, and i make many mistakes. but that is how i learn and that is how i grow. i see my weaknesses and fix them!... i am learning every day. :)

well a funny thing, the little kids here are so bad! hahaha we were tracting in a trailer park and a little boy was flipping us off and trying to whack us with a stick!!!! haha well

Wednesday we received a new missionary, Hermana S! LOVE HER! she is waiting for her visa to go to A.. we have no idea how long she will be here, so we are trying to train her fast :) I love being with two Hermanas ... and we are all 6 weeks apart(mission time). HAHAH therefore we are all so fresh and learning day by day with our espanol! Our tiny room is cramped with 3 beds but its all good.

Hermana S, V (grey, member that we live with & baby kitties), Hermana V ... I love them all

Thursday we had a trainer/trainee meeting in Vancouver. It was amazing, i am so grateful Heavenly Father has allowed me the chance right now to fix my mistakes and be a better missionary and trainer. I am using it!!!! i want my mission to be am amazing learning experience, and wow, i am sure learning a lot! One profound thing the mission president said at the meeting was "i need every missionary to now be ready in 6 weeks...." HAHAHA this is going to become a very common thing, no more 12 weeks of training.. many many missionaries are continuing to come out!

haha the elders out here are like my brothers, we all tell funny and embarrassing stories to each other! friday..... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA Funniest and scariest moment of my life........ So some nights my tummy doesn't do so well. so i take my journal and write while i am on the toilet... well this night i sat down, opened my journal and began to write, i saw something out of the corner of my eye.. i looked down.. THERE WAS A HUGE SPIDER CHILLING ON MY LAP... ! I screamed and jumped up... BAHAHAHA it was hilarious!!!!! my companions freaked out thinking someone was hiding in the bathroom.. when i told them they busted up laughing!!!! the spider was huge... i killed it and then took a shower. haha!! so many bugs are hiding everywhere!

also i got a nice package from my family :) LOVE YOU!! well saturday we visited a referral in Trout Lake Washington... it was an awesome experience. we taught the restoration lesson and gave her a book of Mormon. it was such a powerful experience because i feel the need to testify so strongly about the book of Mormon. she said "well if i have questions who do i contact?" we smiled and said "US!!!!!" :) I have learned so much by reading The Book of Mormon and by teaching people!

Trout Lake Washington

Sunday i had a profound experience, during church i was thinking about what to speak/testify about(next sunday the high counselor is speaking and asked us missionaries to speak with him)... well i started reading my scriptures and then a ton of answers came to me! i frantically began writing them down!!! This work was supposed to be started yesterday.. we are all late! The time is NOW. literally is now, there are thousands of missionaries being sent around the world, WE NEED WORK!!!!! that work is through the members and through tracting.. missionaries cant do it alone! members don't need to prepare people to be taught.. that is heavenly fathers job! The members make a connection with people, have the missionaries go visit them, and then heavenly father will do the rest :)the worst that can happen is they say no, or they say yes and eventually get baptized! we are ALL wanting to end up in the same place, therefore we need everyone involved now!

I have found who i am.... Finding yourself comes through studying the gospel, praying, and literally LOSING yourself in the work.. never wanting to stop working, not realizing what day or time it is... I am striving to work harder and harder. This gospel is so perfect and i want EVERYONE to hear it!!!! I know this gospel is true. I know it without a doubt!!! I love you all so much!!! adios!

Monday, July 08, 2013

P-day last week was so fun!!! We went and played basketball with the elders, picked delicious cherries, and had delicious shakes! it was a fun day :) I know the reason hermanav and i are together, its not to learn spanish or to be memorizing everything.. it is to help each other work to be the best we can be, but on our own :)I love my companion, she is my sister now and forever!

HUGE Sunflower :)

Wednesday we met our AMAZING new mission president and his wife, President and Sister T..they are from Idaho. they are so amazing! they were specifically sent to open the new Washington Vancouver Mission.. many changes are happening!..... as of right now, there are only 6 spanishsisters in this new Washington Vancouver Mission... SO TINY! lots of my mission will be spent training!!! its crazy.

As you know, i hate singing solo, or duet, or in front of people...well hermana has an amazing voice, and so lately everyone has been asking us to sing at meetings and baptisms.. haha its funny, that is one of my fears and weaknesses... heavenly father is making me over come that! last minute, the zone leaders asked us two to sing at the meeting with president Taylor, we threw together a song.. and then found out we would be singing without a piano.. BLAH hahahaha.. well when the time came to sing hermana felt the spirit so strong that she was balling and she couldn't sing, therefore i was singing alone, with no piano... WOW who would have ever thought i would be doing that.. not me! well good or bad, everyone felt the spirit :)

Mt. Hood (Volcano) on the 4th

Thursday 4th of July!!!!! our mission president gave us permission to be with a member family for the night, so we of course hung out with the J's for a while, and we watched the fireworks.. it was so fun :) but not as fun as being at home with my real family. we got to stay out past our bed time for a little bit longer ;)

Hood River Missionaries! Elder S & M, Hermana V & Jaeger (me)

Friday we had weekly planning, dinner, and then we drove to do our exchanges for saturday. Saturday i spent the day with Hermana K(she was trained by Hermana A, my trainer/1st companion in the field. And she just was training my MTC companion Hermana G!) in Vancouver, the work is very different over there!

Hermana K & I. I love her. We have the same "MOM"

We tracted into a nice lady, she was happy... until she found out we are Mormon, then she said "i don't have time for that" and slammed the door in our face.. ! We did find an awesome lady, at first she didn't accept The Book of Mormon, but after we bore a strong testimony and explained what the Book of Mormon is, she became interested and accepted the book and said she would read it... nothing is more powerful than a testimony, english or spanish :)

Sunday, no investigators came, we gotta get people to church!!!Sister L (member in our ward that translates for us every sunday) bore a powerful testimony, "if he has asked you to do it he will make a way, just ask him for it."We all have a time and a season, we can do hard things. Don;t be sad, Christ has given us so many things to be happy about! She also taught an amazing lesson in relief society.. about the second coming, and about the spirit world.. WOW we are so accountable for many things, both the work on this side and the other side..... we gotta get our butts to the temple EVERY DAY!!!! yes, spirits are being taught on the other side, BUT they cannot progress until their work is done here in the temple.. it put a whole new thought in my mind... THIS is the hastening of the work, preparing people on this earth, and doing the work for those who have passed, to help prepare for the coming of Christ!!!! It will be a glorious day and we ALL want everyone to be there for it! our accountability is growing more and more every single day!!!

On the bridge that connects Hood River Oregon & White Salmon. Washington ... my area is beautiful :)

Well on a fun note, a lady in our ward made us gorgeous necklaces, and another lady gave us delicious bread.. I love being a missionary :Dboth with the ups and the downs, its all worth it... this time is preparing me for SO much more, i cant wait to see what that all is!

HAHA funny, so transfers are this wednesday, my comp and i are staying together again here in Hood River Oregon.... There are no spanish sisters coming out to this mission.. well we just got a call from the AP's asking if we would be okay having a visa waiter(spanish, waiting to go to Argentina) be with us as a tri-companionship and start training her for a few weeks until her visa comes... HAHAHAHA HOLY COW, nothing is normal here, SO many changes and crazy things going on!! I am excited but also nervous! we will all be 1 transfer(6 weeks) apart... woooo boy this will be crazy :) I'll email how it goes next week.. take care! LOVE YOU ALL!! ADIOS!

Monday, July 01, 2013

well this week has flown by fast!... ... CONGRATULATIONS TO MY BROTHER AUSTIN, he will be heading to the Chile MTC on October 23, 2013... He is going to Chile Santiago North, spanish speaking.... HAHA my family is all going to be spanish pretty soon :) And 3 Missionaries serving at once!

Enjoying a popsicle on a HOT day & reading my Spanish Scriptures

Well here in HR O the weather is so interesting....... it was pouring rain just last week! and now it is so hot, its in the 100! One exciting and sad thing is because of the pouring rain, the Cherries that grow here and EVERYONE works/owns are now not doing good, they cant be picked/sold since they split and arent perfect... therefore our prayers were answered!!! now we can get people to church since they dont have to work! haha funny answer.:)

People are so kind here in Hood River Oregon to give us free fruit(cherries, blue berries, apples & pears)

Well this week was spent finding and teaching new people. no new people that are steady yet. we did have a lesson with new recent convert! he received a blessing!!!! He has so much faith, he knows Heavenly Father will help him in anything he needs now, just as long as he puts him first in ALL things. i love seeing the change and growth in C, he really is a miracle!

haha well the life of a missionary is rough, i woke up one morning to say my prayer and i feel back asleep, BAHAHA kneeling on the ground! oops! this week was a struggle and a blessing... I just kept thinking of how imperfect i am... all the time people expect me to have perfect spanish, know exactly how and what to teach, expect that i know what i am doing all the time... but i am totally human! i make mistakes, and i grow and learn from those mistakes. no one is perfect, we all know that we are not perfect, so dont expect anyone else to be. one thing I have grown a HUGE love for is studying.... i used to hate studying, but now i love it. haha crazy for me to say that right? but really, i do :)

SCRIPTURE POWER (me & my comp)

short email, but this week we will work our hardest!!! July 10th is the next transfer, so ill let you all know what will happen :) have a good week. Keep working all around the world!

2 Nephi 31:21One important thing i am starting to learn this week is dont be scared to share the gospel with everyone.. that can be done in SO many different ways!!! there is only one gospel and one way to return to live with heavenly father again, and we ALL want to end up with him and with our families :) share this gospel, most people dont know what it is!!!

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Kelsey Lynn Jaeger

Born & raised in Southern California. HERMANA Jaeger is what I will be know by for the next 18 months. This is the journey through my Mission starting in the "WASHINGTON KENNEWICK' Mission & when the 58 new Missions were created ... I am now in the "WASHINGTON VANCOUVER" Mission as I preach the gospel in Spanish. "I'm a Mormon. I know it. I live it. I love it.". (My mom will be updating my blog while I'm on my Mission)